The present invention relates to a cooling apparatus for performing gel slab electrophoresis.
A longstanding problem in the usage of electrophoresis apparatus has been the danger of electrical shock from high voltages required in prior art electrophoresis systems and, as well, degradation in the test results caused by unwanted excursions of both heat and temperature.
Most cooling arrangements used with electrophoresis systems have required the usage of water or other liquid coolant. In addition to difficulty in maintaining heat and temperature control in such systems, the danger of electrical shock, because of the use of a liquid coolant, has always been of concern to manufacturers and users of electrophoresis equipment.
The prior art has exhibited little in the way of the use of pneumatic means to effectuate cooling and temperature control of electrophoretic devices. To the knowledge of the Applicants, the only pertinent art comprises U. S. Pat. Nos. 3,499,833; 3,867,271; 4,234,400; and 4,310,408. None of the arrangements shown in these patents are useful for the generalized heat and temperature control capability provided by the invention disclosed herein.
The instant invention is believed to be properly classified in U. S. Class 204, Subclass 299R.